Let's Spice Things Up A Little

Do you know that up until I made this Chilli Chocolate
Cheesecake, I had never actually tried chilli chocolate?

I know right!

Clearly I have been missing out on something pretty
special.

Chilli and chocolate is one of those combinations that
sounds so many kinds of wrong (well it did to me), but somehow it just works in
a strange and hard to believe it kind of way.

Think Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett, Brooke Shields
and Michael Jackson or how about Courtney Love and Edward Norton? We all raised
our eyebrows in an 'as if' gesture at the thought of them together, but for
some bizarre reason the couplings worked... if only for a while.

Try as I might I could not stop the egg from curdling
in the chocolate and cream mixture.

I honestly have no idea what I was doing wrong - but
after stuffing up two batches and running out of ingredients, I headed to Coles
for some more supplies... and this time I settled on making a Chilli Chocolate
Cheesecake.

Having made cheesecake before, I was pretty confident
I wouldn't screw this one up and I am proud as punch to say - I didn't screw it
up at all.

When I told the kids I was making Chilli Chocolate
cheesecake, all they heard was chilli
chilli chilli and so commenced the moaning... only silenced by a little
white lie from me in the form of a ‘fingers
crossed’ promise that I would leave the chilli out when I made the recipe.

Of course I didn’t leave it out.

Because I am evil!

Joking! But honestly, whilst this cheesecake has a bit
of a kick it is by no means a mouth
burner and I am happy to say that the kids didn’t even notice that there was
chilli in it.

Apart from the fact that Chilli taste so darn good,
did you know that it contains up to seven times more vitamin C than an orange
has?

It is a great source of vitamins A and E, folic acid
and potassium and it aids digestion.

Yep, it boost the metabolism which is just what you
need if weight loss is your goal… alright maybe skip chocolate cheesecake part
if that is the case.

Among other health benefits, it is great at fighting
nasal congestion and can also help to relieve muscle, joint and nerve pain.

I’m telling you – it’s good stuff!

If you are game for a little bit of chilli experimentation;
here's a guide to who's who in the chilli family and the best way to use them.

Red Cayenne - Very versatile chilli which is amazing
with all types of cuisine but why not try with a dark chocolate mousse as
something different.